Saudia Arabia studies benefits of club privitisation

Saudi Arabia is keen on privatisation of clubs to achieve better results in sports, Prince Turki Bin Khalid, Chairman of Al Shams, told Gulf News. Prince Turki, a former board member of the Saudi Arabia Football Association, has been assigned the task of conducting a thorough study on Saudi Arabian sport in an attempt to usher in changes for the future. "The main aim for us is to be self-sufficient and self-efficient," Prince Turki stated. "And the best way to achieve this objective is to usher in something fresh and new in sports in the country," he added.

The Saudi Arabian official insisted that the country was in no hurry to push for privatisation. "We are aware that privatisation is the best solution, but we have to go through the entire process [judiciously]," he said.

"It has to happen in stages and so we neither want to stretch it for too long nor go too fast with it. We need to strike a balance and give ourselves the time for privatisation to be a success," Prince Turki said.

He reiterated that Saudi Arabia's success in football on the highest stage was because of the government's commitment to the development of youth over the years. One of the crucial factors in this direction will be the export of Saudi players to tougher leagues, especially in Europe. "Every young player wants to travel and play in Europe and we want to encourage them. Either way, no one will be able to stop them in the future," Prince Turki said. "It's a question of supply and demand," he added.